Match-gathering machine.



No. 637,041. Patented Nov. 14, I899. F. F. SUMMERSa MATCH GATHERlNG IIABHINE. (Application filed June 26, 1897.) (No Model.) 4 sheets-Sheet l.

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\ N0. 637,04l. I Patented Nov. 14, I899.

F. F. SUMMERS.

MATCH GATHERING MACHINE.

(Application filed June 26, 1897.:

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No. 637,-04l. Patented Nov. I4, 1899.

F. F. SUMMERS. MATCH GATHERING MACHINE.

(Application filed June 26, 1897.) (No Model.) 4 Shaets-Sheet 3.

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N0. 637,041. Patented .Nov. l4, I899. F. F. SUMMERS.

MATCH GATHERING MACHINE.

(Application filed June 26, 1897.)

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(No Model.)

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- of the tray holder and shaker.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK F. SOMMERS, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN;

MATCH-GATHERING MACHINE.

SFECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,041, dated November 14, 1899. Application filed June 26,1897. Serial No. 642,382. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK F. SOMMERS, a citizen of the'United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan,

have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Match-Gathering Machines;

machine, andhas for its objectan improved machine to gather matches from the dipping-- bar and deliver them in trays straight and with heads all at one side of the tray ready to be taken out in masses for the final boxing. One object of my invention is to deliver the large number of matches falling at once from the dipping-bar to the machine in two or more evenly-distributed portions, so that the proper action of the machine shall not be interfered with by too many matches being fed'to it at once.

With the machine which embodies this invention the matches are gathered with great rapidityso quick that the entire two thousand five hundred contained in the frame of dipping-bars is dropped into the tray, sorted, and arranged almost instantly, the gathering of the entire two thousand five hundred not requiring more than a second or two of time and without any liability of burning any of the matches, which may always be left until fully dried before they are gathered.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective showing the top, front, and left side of the machine. Fig. 2 is a perspective showing the top, rear, and right side. Fig. 3 is a detail Fig. 4 is a longitudinal and vertical section of the machine. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the receiving-tray and adjacent parts. Fig. 6 is a detail view, partly in section, of the shaft R and clutching apparatus. Fig.7 is 'an elevation showing the clutching-faces of the pulleys, and Fig. Sis a section on the line a: so of Fig. 7.

That end of the machine at which the tray 18, Fig. 1, is located will be considered the front.

.pulley t, and a wiper-cam t strips 2.

A indicates the framework; at one end of which is journaled a shaft S, that carries the main driving-Wheel B and a drum t, a belt- At the other end of the frame is a shaft R,'that carries two loose pulleys 1" W, a toothed pinion W, and a clutch-wheel 0*. At this end of themachine there is also a second shaft T, that carries a drum 15 Fig. 4, and there is also at this end of the frame a third shaft H, that carries a stretcher-drum h. Around the drums t, 25 and h is a carrier apron or belt 72. The upper surface of this belt travels in a substantially horizontal course near the upper end of the frame and just below a number of guide- These guide strips are disposed across the frame above the belt h and extend lengthwise of the frame parallel with the line of travel of the belt. They hang closely adjacent to the upper surface of the belt and do not obstruct its free motion. They are supported from the arms 2 2,Fig. l,and from a bar 3,that passes through the side pieces of the frame near the rear of the machine. The space between adjacent guide-bars is considerably less than the length of a match. Above the guidebars 2, resting on the sides of the main frame,

is a second frame 0, divided by both longitudinal and cross bars into a number of vertical passage-ways 6 6. The space included between the cross-bars is in each instance so small that a match dropped into it from above can pass through it only in a substantially vertical line and cannot fall either sidewise nor lengthwise of the machine, but must pass substantially vertically down through it. Under the passage-ways 6" are traps 5. As shown in the drawings, there are traps at one-half of the openings 6 6 Said passage-ways and the traps 5 are so disposed that there is at front of the machine a line of open passageways 6 across it, witha line of passage-ways 6 underneath which there is a trap 5, next following,with a third line of openings 6" next back of this open at the bottom, and so on to the rear of the machine. By closing alternate rows of said passage-ways when the matches are dropped from the dipping-bar and opening the closed passage-ways after the matches which pass through the open passageways have been disposed of by the machine the matches are delivered to the machine in evenly-distributed portions, so that the action of the machine is not liable to be clogged.

The traps 5 are hinged to the auxiliary frame 0 at their rear edges and are arranged to drop when the support which holds them up is removed.

Underneath the frame 0 is a slide 7, arranged to reciprocate between the front and rear of the auxiliary frame. It is actuated bya pinion 0' that gears into a rack 7. The pinion r is 011 the shaft R, and this shaft is driven in its backward movement by the belt 8 and belt-wheel T The actuation is primarily from the main shaft; but there is an intermediate pulley 9 and a small pulley on the same shaft with the pulley 9, (but not shown,) so that the backward movement of said rack is comparatively slow, the speed between the driving-shaft and the pulley r being reduced. The reverse movement returning the slide 7 to the front of the machine is a rapid motion communicated to the shaft R from the main shaft S by a direct belt, by which the relative speed of the two shafts is not so greatly reduced. As the slide 7 is moved backward it allows the traps 5 to fall, and this opens a clear passage-way for those of the matches which have been temporarily held in the passage-ways 6". The slide 7 carries at its front end a T cross-piece 7 from which there projects downward a number of pins 7, that straighten any match that may accidentally have fallen across the upper edge of the guide-bars 2.

31 is a cross-piece on the slide 7, located toward the rear of said slide.

The slide 7 after moving to the extent of its backward travel is automatically reversed by the shifting of the clutch r which during the backward movement has been in engagementwith the pulley r and at the end of the backward movement of the slide shifts into engagement with the pulley 7". To bring about this engagement between the clutch and the two pulleys, there is a bent lever 8 one end of which,8, Fig. 1, is provided with a forked terminal that engages with the groove in the shifting clutch T The other end of the lever passes across the main frame, and said lever or a projection therefrom lies in the path of fingers 7 and 32, that project from the cross-pieces 7 of said slide, one finger 32 engaging it on the forward movement and another finger 7 engaging it on the return movement. The finger which engages the free end of the lever S on the backward movement of the slide shifts the clutch which had previously been in engagement with the pulley 7' out of engagement with that pulley and into engagement with the pulley 1'. On the return movement of the slide the finger which engages the free end of the lever shifts the clutch out of engagement with the pulley 0*, but the free end of the lever is itself caught by the riser 30 of a stepped slot 10 in the frame, and the clutch stops after it has passed out of engagement with the pulley r and before it has engaged again with the pulley 0*. Then in this position, both the pulleys r and r are loose from the shaft and the slide is not actuated, although the belt is moving and the shaking device to be hereinafter described is in operation. The clutch is brought into engagement with the pulley r by lifting the freeend of the lever above the riser 30 and swinging the lever along the slot 10 to accomplish the clutch. The shifting from the pulley r to the pulley r is automatic and takes place at the end of the backward travel of theslide 7. The reverseshiftingof the clutch to uncouple it from the pulley r at the end of the forward travel of the slide 7 is also automatic, but the completion of the shift and the engagement of the clutch with the pulley r are not automatic.

At the front end of the machine there is a shaking-holder in which the receiving-tray is held, which holds and shakes the tray Witha motion parallel to the motion of the belt, shaking the matches as they accumulate in the t-ray with an end shake. The mechanism for shaking is shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4.

11 11 indicate brackets which reach forward from the frame and support a rocking frame'12 on journal-pins 13 13". The bracket also supports adjustable limiting-blocks 15 16 15 16 and a tabular plate 17, adapted to hold a removable tray 18. The swinging table or frame supported on the rock-arm 12 is normally held forward against the blocks 15 16 by a spring 17 one end of which engages the rock-arm. In order to shake it or rock it backward, there is secured to the table a fiat leaf-spring 19, which extends to the rear and terminates with a curve that projects un der the wiper-cam 73 As the shaft S revolves the cam fiengages in the curved terminal of the spring 1 9 and rocks the rock-arm and the table supported thereby backward until the cam rotates out of en gagement with the end of the spring 19. This backward rock of the table has strained the spring 17, and the spring 17 instantly retracts the table when the cam passes out of engagement with the curved part of the spring 19. This shaking motion produced by drawing the table in one direction With the rotating cam and drawing it in the other direction with a spring produces a series of short quick jerks that act very effectively to straighten the matches down in proper shape.

\Vithin the tray I employ an attachment which aids greatly in straightening the matchsplints in the tray. It consists of a frame 21, with cross-partitions 22 and with that side against which the heads of the matches impinge as they drop off from the belt h inclined so that the bottom of the side 20 extends farther forward than the top. The matches dropping against this partially-hooded frame fall straight between the partitions,with the heads lying against the side 20 and the splints lying across the tray. The tray 18 and frame 21 are held firmly on the table 17 by clips 33,

- the auxiliary frame 0, with the dipped ends of the matches downward, the bars are compressed in the first instance by means of a screw-actuated head 24. After being slightly compressed the hooks or catches are released and the screw 25 turned to retract the head 24 and loosen the bars that hold the matches. The matches immediately drop from between the bars of the dipping-frame, part of them dropping entirely down onto the belt h, by

which they are carried immediately to anddelivered into the tray. Another part are obstructed in their downward movement by the traps 5 and are only dropped as the traps are successively opened by the retraction of the slide under them. Thus the belt does not re ceive matches in quantities great enough to overload it when the dipping-frame is first opened, and the subsequent action of the machine in delivering the second portion of the matches to the tray is so much quicker than the action of the attendant in taking them ofi of the dipping-bars and placing another set of dipping-bars over the machine that no time is lost.

What I claim is- 1. In a match-gathering machine,a frame, 0, a plurality of vertical passage-ways through said frame, a delivery-belt beneath said passage-ways, adapted to receive the matches that pass through said passage-ways, traps, 5, adapted to close alternate passage-ways, and means for actuating said traps at the time of alternate deliveries of matches to said frame, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a matchgathering machine, in combination with a framework, a belt and means adapted to actuate the belt, guide-bars disposed longitudinally above the belt, a receptacle for the frame which holds the matches, guides adapted to direct the matches from the frame which holds them to the belt, a cross-head, 7', pins, 7, extending from said crosshead between said guidebars, and means for reciprocating said cross-head, substantially asrand for the purpose described.

In a match-gathering machine, in combination with a framework, a receptacle forthe frame which holds the matches, guideways adapted to direct the matches from the frame which holds them to the gathering mechanism, hinged traps adapted to obstruct a portion of said guideways when closed, and a cross-head, 7 movable below said guideways and adapted to close said traps and hold them closed when moved in one direction, and to allow said traps to open when moved in'the other direction, and'means for reciprocating said cross-head, substantially as shown andfor the purpose described.

4. In a match-gathering machine, in combination with a framework, a belt and means adapted to actuate the belt, guide-bars disposed longitudinally above the belt, a receptacle for the frame which holdsthe matches, guideways adapted to direct the matches from the frame which holds them to the belt, hinged traps adapted to obstruct a portion of said guideways when closed, a cross-head, 7 movable below said guideways and adapted to close said traps and hold them closed when moved in one direction, and to allow them to open when moved in the otherdirection, said cross-head being provided with pins, 7, extending from said cross-head between said guide-bars, and means for reciprocating said cross-head, substantially as shown and for the purpose described.

5. In a match-gathering machine in combinationwith a framework, a belt and means adapted to actuate the belt, guide-bars disposed longitudinally above the belt, a recep tacle for the frame which holds the matches, guideways adapted to direct the matches from the receptacle which holds them to the belt, a cross-head, 7 fingers, 7, extending from said cross-head between said guide-bars, a rack extending from said cross-head, a pinion, r engaging with said rack, a clutch mechanism adapted to control the motion of said pinion, a lever adapted to. shift said clutching mechanism and a finger, 32, extending from said rack, said lever being so disposed as to be actuated by said fingers at opposite ends of the travel of said cross-head,

substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. In a match-gathering machine, in combination with a framework, a receptacle for the frame which holds the matches, guideways adapted to direct the matches to the gathering mechanism, hinged traps adapted to obstruct a portion of said guideways when closed, and a cross-head, 7 movable below said guideways and adapted to close said traps and hold them closed when moved in one direction, and to allow them to open when moved in the other direction, a rack extending from said cross-head, a pinion, r engaging said rack, a clutching mechanism adapted to'control the motion of said pinion, a lever adapted to shift said clutching mechanism, and lugs or fingers, connected with said rack and cross-head, said lever being so disposed as to be actuated by said fingers, at opposite ends of the travel of said cross-head, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. In a match-gathering machine, in combination with a delivery-belt, h, a drum, t, a rocking frame located adjacent to the delivery end of said belt, and to said drum, at

spring acting to urge said frame toward one end of its travel, a cam, t upon the shaft of said drum, a resilient arm, 19, extending from said rocking frame into the line of movement of said cam, whereby said cam'is caused to rock said frame in a direction opposite to the action of said spring, and to release said frame, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. In a match-gathering machine, in combination with a delivery-belt, a tray, 18, adapted to receive the matches from said belt, said tray being provided with a side, 20, opposite to said belt, said side sloping away from said belt from above downward, substantially as shown and described.

9. In a m atch-gathering machine, in combination with a delivery-belt, h, drum, 15, rock ing frame located adjacent to the delivery end of said belt, means for reciprocating said rocking frame in the direction of the motion of said belt, and a tray, 18, secured to said rocking frame, said tray having that one of its sides which is opposite and farthest away from said belt, sloping from above downward in a direction away from said belt,- substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses;

FRANK F. SOMMERS;

Witnesses:

CHARLES F. BURTON, VIRGINIA M. CLOUGH. 

